To address some of the challenges, the Government of Mongolia and the Government of Australia have partnered for the Australia Mongolia Extractives Program Phase 2 (AMEP 2) to improve the investment environment for the extractives sector in Mongolia through the collaboration of the government, civil society, and the private sector. The on-demand facility nature of AMEP 2 requires the program to identify a 12-month activity plan each year.

Since 2019 AMEP 2 has implemented 29 activities which are closely correlated with and complement each other. The examples are the Development of a Mongolian Mineral Property Valuation Code, developing guidelines for the implementation of national accounting standards for the exploration and mining operation, completion of data entry for Mongolia’s Geological Catalogue system, the establishment of  an environmental auditors certification system, the incorporation of private sector geo-science data into the national geo-science database, supporting public participation in an environmental impact assessment, the development of guidelines for prospecting, exploration and reporting of resources and reserves for 17 minerals, Development of an e-learning program on gender issues in the mining sector, digitalisation of Tender Exploration Processes, and improved geo-science data for Coal Bed Methane.

Some of our key achievements include:

• The Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry of Mongolia announced tender for exploration licences in December 2022 in 25 sites in 12 provinces using the digitalised tendering system developed with the support of AMEP 2.
• In 2022, the Law on Property Valuation, approved by the Parliament, now recognises mineral valuation and the Mongolian Mineral Valuation Code (MONVAL). AMEP 2 helped train and certify Mongolia’s first 55 appraisers of mineral deposits.
• For the first time in Mongolia, privately-funded geoscience data was incorporated into the National Geological Database. Over 400 reports have been uploaded since July 2021, including 5500 maps, 1400 geo-referencing, and over 5000 rock samplings.
• Conducted a prospectivity analysis, which identified a 7.4 trillion-meter cube CBM resource. A product sharing agreement was signed with four companies in six fields where three of them started demonstration for exploitation.
• Developed guidelines for prospecting, exploration, and reporting of resources and reserves for 17 key minerals. This resulted in about 1,500 geologists conducting exploration work under the new guidelines.
• In collaboration with the Environmental Auditors’ Association (EAA), established a new certification system for environmental auditors and a quality assurance scheme for auditing mining companies. With our support, EAA became the first Mongolian association to achieve ISO 17024 standards for its certification system for its members.